In the early stages of the Expansion Era, the Development Tier became a broadly appreciated bastion of the values of Rocket Sundays. Competition was fierce, scheduling was punctual, and participants developed a sense of camaraderie over the course of the season. After 4FUN had taken the S6 Development title with a dominant 8-1 record in league play, Season 7 saw the tier retain numerous teams, as they geared up for a first campaign that would end in a formal 4 team playoffs.
The Teams
Ping: Formerly known as Calcium, a roster consisting of Reido, Toasted and Hulurkoko returned for their second Rocket Sundays season, becoming the first team in league history to be promoted from the Foundation Tier. Ping had been invited to the S6 Development Invitational and impressed against tough opposition, so hopes were high that they could reach the playoffs. Tactical Whiff: A second RS season for Cody and TerrorGeorge after a solid debut, having gone 6-3 to finish 4th in S6 Development, before bowing out in the Invitational semifinals. Expected to be among the title contenders. Kestrels: The first appearance in RS for the Kestrels, a roster of Elias, NeverLucky and Pa35ul. Without a preseason to judge the team by (preseason fixtures did not occur between Seasons 3 and 8), little was known about the completely new side prior to Week 1. Wyffindor: Relegated after a difficult S6 Challenger Azure campaign, the Wyffindor roster of Yapsinho and OldTimeGentleman re-entered a vastly more competitive Development tier than the one they'd been promoted out of two seasons prior. A question mark hovered over WYF, as pundits wondered if they could snap back into winning ways - nonetheless, the team was still expected to make the playoffs at a minimum. Bangers & Cabbage: A return to RS after three seasons away for DanTheStripe, former teammate of Herbie's at Challenger level with AZA. Another relatively unknown quantity of a roster, but the team themselves stated a goal of finishing in the top 4.
Ninja Cupcakes: Another roster that partook in S6 Development then came back for more, NJCK (a roster of Asuna and league owner Aarontair) were coming off of a 6th placed finish with a 5-4 record. Aimed to challenge for a playoff spot, but needed to prove they could get a result against one of the high seeds.
Canard Baguette: Entering their fifth consecutive season as a partnership at Development level, CNB had finished 5th in S6 Development, before narrowly losing the Invitational final to ThePillBoys. Support of the community remained behind Canard as they chased an increasingly elusive championship. Yet another roster that would consider anything less than a playoff appearance to be a bust.
4Fun: The defending champions of the tier after going 8-1 in S6 Development to take top spot by four clear points, 4Fun had been stripped of their MVP ZonkY, who signed up with a new roster in the Challenger Tier. Without him, a repeat looked extremely unlikely, and the team was not expected to make the top four.
Platoon: Perennial but lovable underdogs entering their third season, Platoon had struggled to date, winning no matches and collecting just 5 points as they finished bottom of S6 Development - among an even tougher S7 lineup, they appeared to be sitting ducks and looked likely to have a tough campaign again.
Orionis Venaetores: An entertaining lineup consisting of Dodo and Monsieur Bob who were in their second RS season, having gone 4-5 and finished 7th in S6 Development. Not expected to make the playoffs, but capable of getting a result against one of the top dogs on their day.
Weeks 1-2
Notable Results
Bangers and Cabbage 3-1 4Fun
Orionis Venaetores 3-2 Platoon
Wyffindor 3-1 Ninja Cupcakes
Kestrels 3-1 Canard Baguette
Ninja Cupcakes 3-0 Platoon
Tactical Whiff 3-2 Ping
Kestrels 3-1 Wyffindor
Unknown quantities became known as Bangers & Cabbage and the Kestrels both got off to unbeaten starts in the season's opening fortnight. The Kestrels had done it the hard way, seeing off Canard Baguette and Wyffindor. Bangers & Cabbage defeated 4Fun in the tier's opening match, an underwhelming performance from the latter that culminated in sitting rock bottom at the end of the second week. Ping had a win and 2 points taken off Tactical Whiff under their belts, and sat a highly respectable 3rd.
Weeks 3-4
Notable Results
Kestrels 3-2 Platoon
Canard Baguette 3-2 Wyffindor
Ping 3-1 Bangers and Cabbage
Tactical Whiff 3-1 Ninja Cupcakes
Ping 3-0 4Fun
Kestrels 3-0 Bangers and Cabbage
The Kestrels romped their way to six points clear at the top of the table, enjoying big wins over Bangers & Cabbage and Tactical Whiff - but in an entertaining affair, Platoon held a shock 2-1 lead in their series before succumbing in Game 5. An exchanging of points between Canard Baguette and Wyffindor saw both sides enter the top 4, shunting out Bangers & Cabbage.
It seemed the Kestrels had taken a major advantage, but the title race was still open ended, with three other sides having received only one defeat.
Weeks 5-6
Notable Results
Ninja Cupcakes 3-1 Ping
Platoon 3-1 Tactical Whiff
Tactical Whiff 3-2 Wyffindor
Bangers and Cabbage 3-2 Ninja Cupcakes
Canard Baguette 3-2 Orionis Venaetores
Ping 3-2 Wyffindor
Right around Week 5, the Development Tier kicked into high gear and officially got crazy. The Kestrels bided their time and remained top, as surprise contenders Ping pulled within a point - but having played an extra game, as they negotiated tricky fixtures against Wyffindor and Orionis Venaetores successfully, but suffered a damaging defeat against 7th placed Ninja Cupcakes. Tactical Whiff also stuttered, losing the now famous "snow series" in four games to Platoon, the latter's first series win of the season. There was now just two points separating 3rd from 7th in the playoff race, but with Canard having played just four matches, there was belief they remained in title contention despite the points gap.
Weeks 7-8
Notable Results
4Fun 3-2 Ninja Cupcakes
4Fun 3-0 Platoon
Bangers and Cabbage 3-1 Canard Baguette
Tactical Whiff 3-0 Canard Baguette
Wyffindor 3-2 4Fun
Tactical Whiff 3-1 Bangers and Cabbage
Week 7 was marred by the unfortunate dropout of Orionis Venaetores, which led to forfeit wins being dished across the remaining participants, further bloating point totals in the playoff race. A more positive story was the shock rise of 4Fun, who rocketed from dead last with 2 points up to 7th with 16 points in a matter of days - this included a win over Ninja Cupcakes, dropping NJCK to 3-5 and seemingly out of playoff contention.
Tactical Whiff swept a major swing series against Canard Baguette, in the midst of a 4 match winstreak that saw them close the gap to the unbeaten Kestrels to just 2 points. Wyffindor occupied the final playoff place and appeared to be favorites to stay there, but Bangers and Cabbage were only a point behind.
Finale
Notable Results
Ping 3-0 Kestrels
4Fun 3-2 Kestrels
Tactical Whiff 3-2 4Fun
Wyffindor 3-2 Bangers and Cabbage
Ninja Cupcakes 3-2 Canard Baguette
A dramatic conclusion worthy of the nine weeks that preceded it saw Ping emerge as shock champions by a single point - the resurgent 4Fun had done the Kestrels significant damage with their surprise Game 5 victory. Tactical Whiff managed to hold off the same team in Champions Field and temporarily go top of the table with 30 points; but Ping, needing to sweep the Kestrels to finish 1st due to their inferior game win difference, did so in unbelievable fashion. Wyffindor secured the final playoff place with a thrilling 3-2 win over nearest contenders Bangers and Cabbage, whilst there was also an entertaining swansong for Canard Baguette in what would ultimately be their final match in Rocket Sundays, as they went down in five games to Ninja Cupcakes.
Playoffs
Kestrels 3-0 Tactical Whiff
Ping 3-0 Wyffindor
Kestrels 4-1 Ping
The playoffs never quite lived up to the billing that league play provided, but the Kestrels troops rallied to avenge their earlier defeat with an impressive 4-1 win in the playoff final, ensuring each of the top two would conclude the season with fully deserved silverware. Each of the top three teams would go on to appear in Season 8 Challenger, with Tactical Whiff and the Kestrels even making the higher tier's playoffs.
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